JSW setting up $90 million military drone plant in Hyderabad

The $23 billion JSW Group is setting up an unmanned aerial systems manufacturing facility with $90 million (about Rs. 850 crore) investment at Maheshwaram electronics manufacturing cluster, on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

It has entered into a strategic partnership with US-based defence technology firm Shield AI to manufacture the latter’s Group 3 unmanned aerial system (UAS) – under a long-term licensing arrangement for transfer of technology. A fixed-wing, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), long endurance intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR) platform, V-BAT is currently deployed by multiple armed forces globally, including the U.S. Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs).

The manufacturing, at the facility of JSW Defence, is expected to commence by last quarter of 2026, JSW Group said after the foundation stone laying ceremony in which IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu, JSW Group’s Parth Jindal and others participated.

The investment will enable JSW to establish a local supply chain and create an advanced facility in India for manufacturing, assembling and testing V-BAT. The effort will enable large-scale production of V-BATs in India to serve the needs of the Indian Armed Forces and also function as a global production hub, the Group said.

Project will create over 300 high-value jobs

The facility is spread over 16 acres and will have a capacity to manufacture 300 V-BAT drones annually. It will house production, repair, testing, administrative, and support infrastructure. This project will create over 300 high-value jobs, the Minister’s office said.

JSW Group’s Parth Jindal and Sarjan Shah, managing director, Shield AI at the foundation stone laying of JSW defence facility in Hyderabad
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BY ARRANGEMENT

“From manufacturing the globally renowned V-BAT at scale, the facility will lay the foundation for an integrated, end-to-end UAS ecosystem, from advanced manufacturing to operator training, manufacturing repair and operations (MRO) and sustained innovation. This project stands among the most significant defence technology transfers to India,” Mr. Jindal said.

On the Group’s defence ventures, he said the drone manufacturing project follows the JSW Gecko Motors joint venture, with a Ukrainian company, to make special mobility vehicles in Chandigarh. The facility was commissioned about 18 months ago and supplied nearly 200 vehicles between the Indian Army and the United Nations. In the same facility, JSW has another JV with an American firm to manufacture off-road vehicles.

Total Rs.1,200 cr investment

The Group will be investing total Rs. 1,200 crore on the defence ventures, which includes Rs. 320 crore towards the technology transfer from Shield. He said India Armed Forces were evaluating the UAS from a localisation perspective. The initial order is for importing eight UAS under the emergency procurement route, something catered directly by Shield AI. The larger orders will be placed once the facility is up, he said.